What Is Dendrobium officinale? Here Comes the Latest Detailed Introduction
Dendrobium officinale is a precious Chinese medicinal herb, also known as black-joint grass, Yunnan ironbark, ironbark dendrobium, etc. It is hailed as the foremost of the “nine great immortal herbs.” There is an old saying, “In the north there is ginseng, in the south there is fengdou,” and the parent plant of fengdou is precisely Dendrobium officinale; after processing, the dried product is called Dendrobium officinale fengdou. Now let us take a look together at what Dendrobium officinale actually is!
What Is Dendrobium officinale?
Dendrobium officinale is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Dendrobium in the orchid family. It is distributed in Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian and other places in China. Its stems are used as medicine and have the effects of benefiting the stomach and promoting fluid production, nourishing yin and clearing heat. Its main medicinal components are dendrobium polysaccharides, dendrobine and total amino acids, etc. It can improve human immune capacity, enhance memory, tonify deficiency and fatigue of the five viscera, resist aging, inhibit tumors, improve symptoms of diabetes, and resist hypoxia. It also has significant effects for people undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy, those with excessive nightlife, and those who excessively smoke and drink.
What Effects Does Dendrobium officinale Have?
1. Nourishing yin fluids: Dendrobium officinale has the effect of moistening the body, viscera, brain marrow and bones, and inhibiting hyperactive yang fire. Yin fluid is the material basis of human life activities, so it can fundamentally solve the problem of insufficient yin fluid in the human body.
2. Nourishing yin and blood: Dendrobium officinale has the function of nourishing yin and blood, and its rich polysaccharide substances have the effect of enhancing immune function, and can enhance the phagocytic ability of peritoneal macrophages toward chicken red blood cells.
3. Tonifying the spleen and stomach: Dendrobium officinale has a good inhibitory effect on Helicobacter pylori, a common pathogenic bacterium in spleen and stomach diseases. At the same time, it can promote the secretion of gastric juice, enhance gastric emptying ability, and help digestion.
4. Protecting the liver and promoting gallbladder function: Dendrobium officinale has been considered by physicians of successive dynasties to have the effect of nourishing liver yin, and can be used to treat liver and gallbladder diseases such as hepatitis, cholecystitis and gallstones.
5. Clearing and descending deficient heat: Dendrobium officinale has the effect of clearing and descending deficient heat. Compared with ordinary heat-clearing drugs, the deficient heat it clears is entirely a type of deficient heat, characterized by yin deficiency and exuberant heat.
6. Strengthening tendons and bones: Dendrobium officinale can nourish yin fluid, and yin fluid can lubricate the joints, thereby achieving the effects of strengthening tendons and bones, improving joint flexibility, and enhancing anti-rheumatic effects.
7. Inhibiting tumors: Dendrobium officinale has relatively strong anti-tumor activity. Used as adjuvant therapy for malignant tumors, it can improve the symptoms of tumor patients, reduce the side effects of radiotherapy (chemotherapy), enhance immunity, and improve quality of life.
8. Brightening the eyes: Dendrobium officinale has the function of nourishing yin and nourishing the eyes, and has been regarded by physicians of successive dynasties as an excellent product for eye care. It has a delaying effect on the prevention and treatment of cataracts, a common eye disease in the elderly.
9. Prolonging life: Dendrobium officinale contains a variety of trace elements, and these trace elements are closely related to human health and longevity. Compared with general drugs, its anti-aging effect on the human body is broader and more comprehensive.
How Is Dendrobium officinale Best Eaten?
1. Eaten fresh
[Method] Take some fresh Dendrobium officinale, wash it, put it in the mouth and chew carefully. It tastes sweet and slightly sticky, fresh and refreshing. The remaining residue can simply be swallowed.
[Effect] Strengthens yin and benefits essence, opens the appetite and strengthens the spleen.
2. Decocted as soup
[Method] Wash and chop or crush it, add water, put it in a pot and first decoct over gentle heat for 30 minutes. Then add 1 to 2 grams of American ginseng and decoct for another 30 minutes. It can be decocted repeatedly and eaten together with the residue.
[Effect] Tonifies deficiency and nourishes yin, clears heat.
3. Brewed as tea
[Method] After washing, cut into thin slices, brew with boiling water and drink. It can be brewed repeatedly and eaten together with the residue.
[Effect] Opens the appetite and strengthens the spleen, reduces internal heat and regulates qi, with significant therapeutic effects on chronic pharyngitis.
4. Boiled into paste
[Method] Wash and chop or crush it, optionally add other Chinese medicinal materials, add water and decoct to obtain juice. Decoct twice, discard the residue, then concentrate over low heat, add rock sugar and continue simmering until it forms a paste for consumption.
[Effect] Has significant therapeutic effects on symptoms such as strain-induced weakness, multiple joint pains, physical fatigue and excessive night sweats.
5. Soaked in liquor
[Method] Wash, chop and crush it, then soak it alone or together with other materials in liquor above 40 degrees. It can be consumed after 3 months.
[Effect] Tonifies the kidneys and nourishes yin, generates essence and dispels wind.
6. Added to meals
[Method] Wash and chop or crush it, and stew it over gentle heat for 2 to 3 hours together with materials such as chicken and duck. Alternatively, decoct it over gentle heat, take the juice, and add it to other ingredients to make congee, soup or broth, etc.
[Effect] Nourishes yin and promotes fluid production, and treats common physical deficiency symptoms such as deficient heat, mild sweating and soreness and pain of the tendons and bones.